August 24
Events *49 BC - Julius Caesar's general Gaius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River by the Numidians under Attius Varus and King Juba of Numidia. Curio commits suicide to avoid capture. * 79 - Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash. * 410 - The Visigoths under Alaric begin to pillage Rome for three days. *1215 - Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid. *1349 - Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague. *1391 - Jews massacred in Palma de Mallorca. *1456 - The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed. *1511 - Alfonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers the Sultanate of Malacca. *1561 - Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony. *1572 - Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre: On the orders of king Charles IX of France, a massacre of Huguenots (French Protestants) begins. *1608 - The first official English representative to India lands in Surat. *1662 - Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer. *1682 - William Penn receives the area that is now the state of Delaware, and adds it to his colony of Pennsylvania. *1690 - Calcutta, India is founded. *1814 - British and Canadian troops invade Washington and burn down the White House and several other buildings. *1816 - The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri. *1820 - Constitutionalist insurrection at Oporto, Portugal; see Portugal's crises of the Nineteenth Century. *1821 - The Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain. *1831 - Charles Darwin is asked to travel on [[Wikipedia:HMS Beagle|HMS Beagle]]. *1847 - Charlotte Brontë finishes Jane Eyre. *1853 - Potato chips are first prepared. *1857 - The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in U.S. history. *1858 - In Richmond, Virginia, 90 blacks are arrested for learning. *1870 - The Wolseley Expedition reaches Manitoba to end the Red River Rebellion. *1875 - Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim English Channel *1891 - Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera. *1909 - Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal. *1912 - Alaska becomes a United States territory. *1914 - World War I: German troops capture Namur. *1929 - Turkey and Persia sign a friendship treaty. * 1929 - Riots in Palestine of 1929: 18 Jews in Safed, 67 in Hebron, and 22 in Jerusalem killed by Arab Palestinians. *1931 - France and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality/no attack treaty. * 1931 - Resignation of the United Kingdom's Second Labour Government. Formation of the UK National Government. *1932 - Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey). *1936 - The Australian Antarctic Territory is created. *1937 - In the Spanish Civil War, the Basque Army surrenders to the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie following the Santoña Agreement. *1939 - The Nazi-Soviet Pact is signed between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. *1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō is sunk and US carrier Enterprise heavily damaged. *1944 - World War II: Allied troops start the attack on Paris. *1949 - The treaty creating NATO goes into effect. *1950 - Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the UN. *1954 - The Communist Control Act goes into effect. The American Communist Party is outlawed. * 1954 - Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, president of Brazil, commits suicide and is succeeded by João Café Filho. *1960 - A temperature of −88°C (−127°F) is measured in Vostok — a world-record low. *1963 - The 200-metre freestyle is swum in less than 2 minutes for the first time by Don Schollander (1:58). *1967 - Led by Abbie Hoffman, a group of hippies temporarily disrupt trading at the NYSE by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing a cease in trading as the brokers scramble to grab them up. *1968 - France explodes its first hydrogen bomb, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power. *1981 - Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon. *1989 - Colombian drug barons declare "total war" on the Colombian government. * 1989 - Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. * 1989 - Voyager 2 passes Neptune. *1990 - A judge rules that Judas Priest are not responsible for the deaths of two youths who committed suicide after listening to the band's music. * 1990 - Sinéad O'Connor refuses to perform at the Garden State Arts Plaza in Holmdel, New Jersey if "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played before her show, as is customary. This began the downfall of her career. *1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. * 1991 - Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union. *1992 - Diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and South Korea. * 1992 - Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida as a Category 5 Hurricane. *1994 - Initial accord between Israel and the PLO about partial self-rule of the Palestinians on the West Bank. *1995 - Windows 95, a computer operating system by Microsoft, is released with much fanfare. *1998 - The Netherlands is selected as the site for the trial of the two Libyan suspects of the 1988 Pan Am bombing. *1998 - First RFID human implantation tested in the United Kingdom. *2001 - Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean (en route to Lisbon from Toronto) and makes an emergency landing in the Azores. *2004 - 89 passengers die after two airliners explode after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, near Moscow. The explosions were caused by suicide bombers (reportedly female) from the Russian Republic of Chechnya. *2006 - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is considered a "Dwarf Planet." Births *1113 - Geoffrey of Anjou, Count of Anjou (d. 1151) *1198 - King Alexander II of Scotland (d. 1249) *1358 - King John I of Castile (d. 1390) *1393 - Arthur III (d. 1458) *1552 - Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (d. 1614) *1580 - John Taylor, English poet (d. 1654) *1591 - Robert Herrick, English poet (d. 1674) *1635 - Peder Griffenfeld, Danish statesman (d. 1699) *1669 - Alessandro Marcello, Italian composer (d. 1747) *1707 - Selina Hastings, English Evangelical Revivalist (d. 1791) *1750 - Letizia Ramolino, mother of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1836) *1759 - William Wilberforce, English abolitionist (d. 1833) *1772 - King William I of the Netherlands (d. 1840) *1787 - James Weddell, Antarctica explorer (d. 1834) *1817 - Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian writer (d. 1875) *1837 - Théodore Dubois, French composer and teacher (d. 1924) *1845 - James C. Calhoun, brother-in-law of George Armstrong Custer (d. 1876) *1852 - Deacon White, American baseball player (d. 1919) *1863 - Dragutin Lerman, Croatian explorer (d. 1918) *1865 - King Ferdinand I of Romania (d. 1927) *1872 - Max Beerbohm, British caricaturist (d. 1956) *1880 - Joshua Lionel Cowen, American entrepreneur (d. 1965) *1884 - Earl Derr Biggers, American author (d. 1933) *1887 - Harry Hooper, American baseball player (d. 1974) *1890 - Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer and surfer (d. 1968) * 1890 - Jean Rhys, British writer (d. 1979) *1895 - Richard Cardinal Cushing, archbishop of Boston (d. 1970) *1897 - Fred Rose, American songwriter and publishing executive (d. 1954) *1898 - Malcolm Cowley, American literary critic (d. 1989) *1899 - Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine writer (d. 1986) * 1899 - Gaylord DuBois, American comic book writer (d. 1993) * 1899 - Albert Claude, Belgian biologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1983) *1901 - Preston Foster, American actor (d. 1970) *1902 - Carlo Gambino, Sicilian-born American mafioso (d. 1976) * 1902 - Fernand Braudel, French historian (d. 1985) *1904 - Alice White, American actress (d. 1983) *1905 - Siaka Stevens, President of Sierra Leone (d. 1988) * 1905 - Arthur Crudup, American singer and guitarist (d. 1976) *1912 - Durward Kirby, American television personality (d. 2000) *1915 - James Tiptree, American writer (d. 1987) *1916 - Hal Smith, American actor (d. 1994) * 1916 - Léo Ferré, French composer and singer (d. 1993) *1917 - Dennis James, American game show host (d. 1997) *1918 - Sikander Bakht, Governor of Kerala (d. 2004) *1922 - René Lévesque, Premier of Quebec (d. 1987) * 1922 - Howard Zinn, American historian and activist *1923 - Arthur Jensen, American psychologist *1927 - Harry Markowitz, American economist, Nobel laureate *1929 - Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader (d. 2004) *1934 - Kenny Baker, English actor *1936 - A. S. Byatt, English novelist *1937 - Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, Nigerian politician (d. 1998) *1938 - Halldór Blöndal, Icelandic politician * 1938 - David Freiberg, American bassist (Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Starship) * 1938 - Mason Williams, American guitarist and composer *1940 - Francine Lalonde, Quebec politician *1942 - Max Cleland, American politician * 1942 - Howard Jacobson, British novelist and newspaper columnist *1943 - John Cipollina, American guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (d. 1989) *1944 - Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1996) * 1944 - Gregory Jarvis, American astronaut (d. 1986) *1945 - Ken Hensley, English musician (Uriah Heep) * 1945 - Vince McMahon, American professional wrestling promoter *1947 - Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author * 1947 - Roger De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist * 1947 - Vladimir Masorin, Russian admiral * 1947 - Anne Archer, American Actress *1948 - Jean-Michel Jarre, French musician * 1948 - Kim Sung-Il, Chief of Staff of Republic of Korea Air Force *1949 - Joe Regalbuto, American actor * 1949 - Charles Rocket, American actor (d. 2005) *1950 - Tim White, American anthropologist *1951 - Orson Scott Card, American writer * 1951 - Oscar Hijuelos, Pulitzer Prize winning author *1952 - Mike Shanahan, American football coach *1954 - Alain Daigle, French Canadian ice hockey player *1956 - John Culberson, American politician * 1956 - Dick Lee, Singaporean singer-songwriter *1957 - Stephen Fry, English comedian and actor *1958 - Steve Guttenberg, American actor * 1958 - Tracy Harris, American artist *1960 - Cal Ripken, American baseball player * 1960 - Kim Christofte, Danish footballer * 1960 - Takashi Miike, Japanese filmmaker *1962 - Craig Kilborn, American talk show host * 1962 - David Koechner, American actor *1963 - John Bush, American singer (Anthrax) * 1963 - Hideo Kojima, Japanese video game director * 1963 - Greg Glienna, American screenwriter and director *1964 - Salizhan Sharipov, cosmonaut *1965 - Marlee Matlin, American actress * 1965 - Brian Rajadurai, Sri Lankan cricketer * 1965 - Reggie Miller, American basketball player *1968 - Shoichi Funaki, Japanese professional wrestler * 1968 - Andreas Kisser, Brazilian guitarist (Sepultura) * 1968 - Benoit Brunet, French Canadian ice hockey player *1970 - Tugay Kerimoğlu, Turkish footballer *1971 - Pierfrancesco Favino, Italian actor *1972 - Jean-Luc Brassard, Canadian freestyle skier *1973 - Dave Chappelle, American actor and comedian * 1973 - Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer * 1973 - Carmine Giovinazzo, American actor * 1973 - Andrew Brunette, Canadian ice hockey player *1974 - Jennifer Lien, American actress *1975 - Mark de Vries, Surinamese-Dutch footballer *1977 - Robert Enke, German footballer * 1977 - Per Gade, Danish footballer * 1977 - Denílson, Brazilian footballer *1978 - Rafael Furcal, Dominican baseball player *1979 - Michael Redd, American basketball player *1979 - Elva Hsiao, Taiwanese singer *1980 - Sonja Bennett, Canadian actress *1981 - Chad Michael Murray, American actor * 1981 - Jiro Wang Dong Cheng, Taiwanese singer, actor *1983 - Marcel Goc, German ice hockey player * 1983 - Christopher Parker, British actor *1987 - Jon Scheyer, American basketball player *1988 - Rupert Grint, English actor *1995 - Runa Tsukishima, Japanese child model *2003 - Alexandre Coste, son of Albert II Deaths * 79 - Pliny the Elder, Roman writer and naturalist (b. 23) *1042 - Michael V, Byzantine Emperor) (b. 1015) *1103 - King Magnus III of Norway (b. 1073) *1217 - Eustace the Monk, French mercenary and pirate (bc. 1170) *1540 - Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, Italian painter (b. 1503) *1542 - Gasparo Contarini, Italian diplomat and cardinal (b. 1483) *1572 - Victims of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: ** 1572 - Gaspard de Coligny, French Huguenot leader (b. 1519) ** 1572 - Pierre de la Ramée, French humanist (b. 1515) ** 1572 - Charles de Téligny, French Huguenot soldier (bc. 1535) *1595 - Thomas Digges, English astronomer (b. 1546) *1647 - Nicholas Stone, English sculptor and architect (b. 1586) *1664 - Maria Cunitz, Silesian astronomer (bc. 1610) *1679 - Jean François Paul de Gondi, French churchman and agitator (b. 1614) *1680 - Thomas Blood, Irish-born thief of the British crown jewels (b. 1618) *1683 - John Owen, English non-conformist theologian (b. 1616) *1759 - Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet (b. 1715) *1779 - Saint Cosmas of Aetolia, Greek Orthodox martyr (b. 1714) *1798 - Thomas Alcock, English clergyman (b. 1709) *1831 - August von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (b. 1760) *1832 - Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French mathematician (b. 1796) *1841 - Theodore Edward Hook, English author (b. 1788) *1888 - Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (b. 1822) *1921 - Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet (b. 1886) *1940 - Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, German television pioneer (b. 1860) *1943 - Simone Weil, French philosopher and social activist (b. 1909) *1946 - James Clark McReynolds, U.S. Supreme Court justice (b. 1862) *1954 - Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil (b. 1882) *1956 - Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese film director (b. 1898) *1958 - Paul Henry, Northern Irish artist (b. 1876) *1967 - Henry J. Kaiser, American industrialist (b. 1882) * 1967 - Lam Bun, Hong Kong radio commentator (murdered) (b. 1930) *1974 - Alexander de Seversky, Russian-American aviation pioneer (b. 1894) *1977 - Buddy O'Connor, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1916) *1978 - Louis Prima, American band leader (b. 1910) *1979 - Hanna Reitsch, German pilot (b. 1912) * 1979 - Sampson Sievers, Russian Orthodox Christian monk and wonder-worker (b. 1898) *1980 - Yootha Joyce, British actress (b. 1927) *1982 - Félix-Antoine Savard, French Canadian catholic priest and novelist (b. 1896) *1985 - Paul Creston, American composer (b. 1906) *1987 - Malcolm Kirk, wrestler (b. 1936) *1990 - Sergei Dovlatov, Russian writer (b. 1941) * 1990 - Gailli AbedElrhman, Sudanese writer (b. 1931) *1991 - Bernard Castro, Italian inventor (b. 1904) *1995 - Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-born photographer (b. 1898) *1998 - E.G. Marshall, American actor (b. 1910) *1999 - Alexandre Lagoya, Greek-Italian classical guitarist (b. 1929) *2001 - Jane Greer, American actress (b. 1924) *2002 - Nikolay Guryanov Russian Orthodox Christian mystic and priest (b. 1909) *2003 - Sir Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer (b. 1910) *2004 - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-born psychiatrist (b. 1926) *2005 - Kaleth Morales, Colombian Vallenato singer (b. 1984) *2006 - Léopold Simoneau, French Canadian tenor (b. 1916) * 2006 - Cristian Nemescu, Romanian film director (b.1979) *2007 - Andrée P. Boucher, Mayor of Quebec City (b. 1937) Holidays and observances *Roman Catholic Saints :*Feast day of Saint Bartholomew. :*Feast day of Abban of Ireland *Roman calendar :*''Mundus patet'': a harvest feast involving the dead. *Liberia: Flag Day. *Sierra Leone: President's Birthday. *Ukraine: National holiday, independence from the Soviet Union (1991). External links *BBC: On This Day * *On This Day in Canada ---- Category:August